Virat Kohli and MS Dhoni (Photo Source: Twitter)
The Indian Premier League (IPL) will be back with its 2024 edition on March 22. The opening game will be between the defending champions Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) at the MA Chidambaram Stadium. MS Dhoni will be seen as CSK’s skipper again while Virat Kohli, who has been out of cricketing action since January 2024, will also take the field.
Both legends have made vital contributions to make IPL arguably the most successful league in the world. Kohli is currently the leading run-getter in the league with 7263 runs in 237 matches at a strike rate of 130.02, with seven tons and 50 half-centuries while Dhoni also holds a plethora of captaincy and wicketkeeping records. In the upcoming competition, eyes will be set on both eminent players so before witnessing the T20 extravaganza, let’s talk about five Dhoni’s feats that Virat Kohli can’t shatter in the 2024 IPL edition.
Here are four MS Dhoni records Virat Kohli can’t break in the 2024 IPL
4. Most matches as a player
Both Kohli and Dhoni have been active in IPL since 2008. Dhoni became the apple of CSK’s eyes in the maiden IPL auction held in Mumbai after guiding India to the title win in the 2007 T20 World Cup while Kohli was serving Delhi in domestic cricket before joining RCB.
The stumper-batter has played 14 seasons for CSK while Kohli has spent all his IPL career in the Challengers’ side. Following Chennai’s two-year ban due to betting activities in 2015, Dhoni also donned the Rising Pune Supergiant (RPSG) jersey for two seasons. In these years, he has shown up in 250 games while Kohli has appeared in 237 games for Bangalore.
Dhoni currently tops the chart for most matches in IPL while Kohli is holding the fourth spot on the table. In the upcoming IPL season, it will become unlikely for Kohli to break Dhoni’s record of most matches in the league if the CSK skipper plays the first half of the season.
3. Most victories as a player
Dhoni also possesses the record of most victories as a player in the league. The CSK stalwart has won 145 matches in the league after 16 years. Of his 145 victories, 130 came for CSK while 15 games he won while donning the RPSG jersey in the 2016 and 2017 seasons.
Talking about Kohli, he holds the seventh position on the list with 113 wins in 237 games. Kohli won’t be able to surpass Dhoni’s sensational achievement, this year as the former is 32 wins away from the latter’s record which means if Kohli wins all the games for RCB in the upcoming competition, he won’t succeed in displacing his senior Team India colleague.
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2. Most number of not-outs
Chennai captain tops the table for accumulating the most unbeaten knocks in the league. In his immense IPL career, the wicketkeeper batter has returned to the pavilion not out 87 times, which is the most by any batter in the cash-rich league.
Talking about his best unbeaten knocks, one came against Punjab Kings (PBKS) in 2010 in Dharamsala. Batting second, CSK got an uphill task of chasing 193 but Dhoni’s spunky unbeaten 54-run innings off just 29 deliveries helped the Men in Yellow chase down the target with two balls to spare.
Dhoni’s scintillating feat is most likely to remain untouched this season again as Ravindra Jadeja, who is following him with an unbeaten 71 innings, is also far away from the veteran’s record. Kohli, who bats at the top order for his side, has remained unbeaten in only 34 contests.
1. Trophy wins as a player
Dhoni has won five trophies as a player in his 16-year IPL career. All his victories came for Chennai as a skipper. The CSK veteran is the joint second-leading title winner along with the Mumbai Indians’ skipper Hardik Pandya, who has also won five titles in the league.
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On one side, Dhoni has amassed five titles while on the other side, Kohli is yet to lift the coveted IPL trophy. Noting the current scenario, it seems almost impossible for the former RCB captain to equate Dhoni’s record of title wins.
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